Ever Since You

Chapter One

Walking into the new house was shocking. I kept having to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. George said there would be structure and rules. I sigh in relief as I sit in my new bed, in my new room.

I am interrupted by my thoughts from Lucas barging in my room, he stomps his way toward me, arms crossed, his golden eyes sparkling with mischief. He grunts loudly as he plants himself next to me on the bed, continuing to sigh very loudly while he lays there. Drama queen.

"What is it, Lucas?"

"Georgi and Charley are making me go back to school! They said in order for me to graduate in the next two years I will need to take classes all summer! Do you know what that means? That means no having fun for once."

"Hey, school is fun! If I had the opportunity to go back I would! Give them a chance will ya?"

"They are acting like they are our par-" he stops himself before he can finish his sentence. My eyes begin to water. One small tear escapes my eyes as I sniffle. "No, no, Ken, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Shit, I'm so sorry. Please don't cry. Okay, you are right, I'll go to school."

"I know you didn't mean to, its been two years now since we lost them. I'm still hurting everyday. But do whatever you can to grow into a man like our father was."

"I will try my best, but to be honest, school isn't for me. But for you I will do anything."

"Hey you never know! You might meet a special girl there," I say wiggling my eyebrows.

He returns with a uncomfortable laugh and starts to scratch the back of his head. "Oh uh yeah, sure, I also came up here to get you for dinner." He abruptly stands and bolts to the door. His footsteps are heard from the stairwell. That was weird.

I follow his path down the stairs, going to the dining room to see George, Charlotte, Aria, and now Lucas, unpacking some boxes to make dinner.

"I thought youbsaid dinner was ready, right Lucas?"

He looks at me with a sheepish grin and replies, "Charolette wanted all of us to help her." He then looks over at Charlotte to confirm.

"Oh yes, when I was young, my parents used to make me help them in the kitchen. I then made my daughter do the same. It brought us closer as a family. Would you please join us?" She puts her hands in a pleading way. She gives me a look while batting her eye lashes, and I can't help but giggle. For an older woman, she is in good shape. She has barely there freckles that covers her pale skin. Her ocean orbs consume me as I gaze at hers, they are filled with love. She reminds me of my mother. She is kind and gentle.

"That sounds like fun." I match her grin. For the next hour we talk about anything and everything. Aria has the most questions of all.

"So how old are you lady? How old is he? When did you meet? How many kids do you have? Are we your kids to.. oh! Are you are new mommy and daddy? You guys are pretty old to be our mommy and daddy... but you could be out grandparents!" The last question struck a chord with me. I couldn't stop myself from tearing up once again at the mention of our parents. Aria being young, naive, and full of energy is oblivious to this. Lucas is now somber. George, I think is pretending to not be listening as he chops the vegetables for the salad at a slower pace than before. Charlotte however, notices my state without even looking up from the pot on the stove. She whispers to George to keep the liquid moving, then approaches me while talking towards Aria.

"Aria sweetie, we are not replacing your parents. Think of us like grandparents. We will take care of you and treat you like family. No one in the world could replace your parents. From what Lucas has told me, they were everything they should have been and more. No one will ever take that away from you." As she finishes the last statement to cups my face directing her words to me. She wipes away my tears and hugs me close. At first I go rigid. I have never been hugged before, at least not in this context. She waits for me to finally return the hug, she holds me close.

I feel content and loved. Her body heat warming my cold, sad, heart. She leans back to check my face once more, smiling warmly at me. She begins soft, turning to Aria, which by now Aria realized I was upset. She comes to me squeezing my hand in hers, giving me an apologetic smile. I shake my head indicating I was okay before Charoletye spoke again.

"Now for your other billion questions, Georgi is sixty-five. I am sixty, we met after college a long time ago," she looks over to George whom smiles widely at her. She returns giving him a wink, "We have two children, one being Hannah, the other Oliver, they are fraternal twins. You will most likely see Hannah a lot. As for Oliver, he runs Georgi's company and must travel a lot. Now dinner is almost ready, go wash up."

We eat soup and salad for dinner. It is the best tasting food I've had in a long time. We make tough decisions. We talk a lot about the future. Charlotte whom told us to call her by Charlie for short, mention it will be easiest for Aria to adjust and go back to school, seeing as she is the youngest. Lucas must attend fast tracking high school to catch up and will begin junior year in the fall. As for myself, I was to get my G.E.D. and start college courses in the fall. Everything was falling in place. I was really excited to see what the future had in store for our little new family.

Author's note:

Thank you so much for reading! This is kind of a filler chapter. It will start getting more interesting in the next few chapters. There are many characters so im trying my best to get their backgrounds so you all arent like wtf... who is that.. haha.
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